


Of Girly –Men and Manly-Men

by dragonflyMerri



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-24
Updated: 2012-04-24
Packaged: 2017-11-04 05:36:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/390341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflyMerri/pseuds/dragonflyMerri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bradley discovers Colin's secret and Colin shows him how it's done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Girly –Men and Manly-Men

“Merlin, take this message back to Gwen.” Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand to press the parchment into it. “Tell her - ”

The sound of a helicopter drowned out the rest of Arthur’s speech.

“CUT! Hold positions. We’ll go again when it’s passed.”

Colin and Bradley remained as they were. Both looked up at the tourist helicopter that was doing a slow circle of their location.

Bradley absently rubbed his thumb over Colin’s hand, then looked down with a frown. He turned Colin’s hand over to look at it properly.

“Bradley?” Colin was looking at him curiously.

“Your fingers…”

“What about them?

“You’ve got really nice nails, Col.”

“Um…thanks?”

“No, I mean, you’ve got nails like my sisters.”

“Okay, not thanks.”

Bradley held Colin’s hand up and examined his nails more closely.

“These are really well manicured, Col.”

“Bradley, you do realize that now you are sounding like a girl?”

“How do you get them so smoothly polished like this?

“Bradley - ”

“OK people, let’s try this again. Positions Bradley, Colin. And….ACTION!”

 

****

 

Colin was lounging on the couch in his dressing room, reading his script when Bradley came in. He grabbed Colin’s feet to move them out of the way so he could sit. Colin kicked back, not removing his eyes from his script.

“G’way Bradley, I’ve got to memorize this spell.”

“Come on, just talk to me for a minute. I’m going stir-crazy with nothing to do. I sleep thru the next scene.” Bradley tried to wrestle Colin’s long limbs into submission.

“G’way. Go bother someone else.” 

Colin tried to yanked his foot out of Bradley grasp and instead yanked his foot out of his sock. Bradley grabbed the naked foot and began to tickle it. Suddenly he stopped and yanked the foot up to his eye level.

Colin yelped at the awkward change of position.

“Bradley! What the hell?”

Bradley glared at the foot then back at Colin.

“This foot, Morgan – this foot has had a pedicure!” He accused.

Colin pulled his foot out of Bradley’s grip and hunted around for his missing sock.

“First your fingernails, now your toes. You, Colin Morgan, are a girly-man!

Colin looked at him like he’d lost all his marbles.

“What the hell are you talking about?

“Your fingernails and toenails! You get mani-pedies!”

Colin grinned back at him with a smile that nearly split his face in half.

“It give me all kinds of thrills to know that you actually know what a mani-pedi is, Bradley” Colin smirked.

“Of course I know what they are. I’ve got a mother and two sisters who get them all the time. The question is, Morgan – what are you doing, getting them?”

Colin pulled on his found sock and shrugged. “I like them. You should try it.”

Bradley reared back and folded his arms. “You may be a girly-man, Morgan, but I am a manly-man and manly-men do not get mani-pedies.”

Colin looked up at him in all innocence. “Tom gets them. Are you going to tell him he’s a girly-man?”

Bradley gaped at him. “Tom?”

“Yep, and Rupert and Ade. Tom was the one who told me about the place were we get it done, in fact.”

“Rup and Ade??”

“Yep.

“What, all of you go get mani-pedies together?”

“Not together. Although sometimes we run into each other during appointments. Actually, you know, Bradley. You’re the only one who doesn’t get them.”

“You didn’t mention Eoin.”

“He goes to another salon.”

“So what you’re saying is that basically, the knights of Camelot are a bunch of metro-sexuals??”

Colin burst out laughing. “Yet again, Bradley – astonished and thrilled that you know the term metro-sexual!”

Bradley scowled back at him and Colin took pity on him.

“Tell you what. I’ve got an appointment day after tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me and try it? I can pretty well guarantee that once you try it, you’re gonna love it.”

“I am not going-“

“It’s just me. I don’t think any of the other guys will be there. Just come and try it once. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go back. Come on. You can’t comment if you haven’t tried it.”

 

****

 

Two days later Bradley all but slunk into the salon behind Colin. He had the collar turned up on his jacket and a ball cap pulled low on his head.

‘Mr Colin!” A pretty Asian girl smiled up at him. “Welcome back. Is this your friend Mr. Badly?”

Colin snorted. “Bradley, his name is Bradley – although Badly works too.”

“Shut it, Morgan” Bradley growled beside him.

“So sorry, Mr Bradley. Please come this way. You can leave your shoes and socks here and please put on these slippers.”

Bradley followed Colin’s lead, hanging up his coat and cap, putting his shoes and socks in a cubby hole and slipping on a pair of disposable slippers. Then they walked over to what looked like giant armchairs with a footbath attached.

Another young Asian girl introduced herself to Bradley as Jenny and led him to one of the chairs, where he awkwardly climbed into it, trying to avoid the footbath. Colin settled into a chair beside him.

Jenny pushed a button and the footbath began bubbling. She pulled off Bradley’s slippers and gently lowered his feet into the frothing, scented water.

Bradley positively did not groan in appreciation, despite the grin on Colin’s face.

Then Jenny pulled out an attached control unit, pushed a few buttons and Bradley’s chair began to vibrate, embedded rollers trailed up and down his spine.

This time, Bradley did groan and he sank further back into his chair.

“Still think this is a bad idea?” Colin asked

“Shut it Morgan,” Bradley growled.

“You just sit here for a few minutes, Mr Badly. Relax.” Jenny smiled then walked away.

“Enjoying the chair, Mr Badly?” Colin snickered beside him.

Bradley turned and glared at him.

Jenny returned with two small basins of warm water and set one on each small tables on either side of the chair. Then she put Bradley’s fingers to soak.

Bradley relaxed back into the chair, closed his eyes and decided that this was maybe a little bit of bliss.

“Careful, Bradley – you’re smiling.” He heard Colin say.

“Shut it Morgan,” he muttered.

What followed was 45 minutes of utter pampering. While Bradley soaked his fingers, Jenny performed her magic on his feet. When she pulled his foot out of the water and began to massage and kneed his foot, Bradley keened in contentment. Suddenly she pressed a spot on his foot and Bradley jumped in pain. His eyes snapped open. Jenny frowned up at him.

“Mr Badly, you have problem with your back. You must take more care.”

Bradley stared at her dumbfounded.

“They do reflexology here – that’s what Jenny’s doing with your foot. You can tell the health of your whole body though your feet.” Supplied Colin.

Jenny lowered his foot back in the water and picked up his other foot. She began to massage and kneed that foot.

“What are your feet telling you then?” Bradley asked Colin.

“Apparently I have a pain in my arse – but I’m pretty sure that’s just you.”

“Oh shut it Morgan. Sorry I asked.”

Bradley was just relaxing into the massage when Jenny hit another spot and he jumped again.

“Your shoulder – very stiff.” Jenny said, then proceeded to kneed that one spot until Bradley was squirming and actually let out a whine.

“This will help, Mr Badly, just a little bit more. I must break up the crystals that have built up in this spot.”

“Bloody hell,” Bradley gasped and winced in pain.

“Man up, Bradley” Colin called from beside him. “This is girly-man stuff, remember?”

“Shut the fuck up, Morgan” Bradley said through gritted teeth and he heard Colin laugh.

Thankfully Jenny finished with the massage and began working on his pedicure. She tutted at the state of his heels, scraping them with a file until they were smooth and soft, then she stared on his nails.

Bradley glanced over at Colin and was pretty sure he was snoozing while his worker worked on his feet. Realizing that was a pretty good thing, Bradley closed his eyes and sank into a stupor.  
When Jenny finished his pedicure, she drained the basin, refilled it, added an essential oil that smelled of peppermint and left his feet to soak some more.

Then another girl, Lui, started working on Bradley’s fingers. Expecting to have only his fingernails worked on, Bradley was pleasantly surprised when Lui began massaging his hand and each individual finger. Who the hell knew that having your fingers massaged could feel so freaking good?

Lui finished with one hand and moved to the other side to begin working on the other hand. Bradley examined his finished hand and the nails, which Lui had buffed to a soft sheen. He held his hand up to admire it and grinned at the finished look.

“Still think this is for girly-men?”

“I may owe you an apology, Col.”

“So you’ll come back again?”

“Yeah. This is pretty great.”

“Bradley! Good to see you here.”

Bradley looked up and saw Tom standing in front of him.

“Um, hi” Bradley’s face flamed with embarrassment to be caught with this toes soaking and his hand being massaged.

“Hi Lui,” Tom addressed the girl working on Bradley’s hand. The girl looked up with a huge grin.

“Mr Big Tom! I work on you after.”

Bradley snorted with laughter. Okay, Mr Big Tom was definitely better than Mr Badly.

Tom grinned then walked off to his own chair a few chairs down.

Bradley turned with a grin to Lui.

“You call him Mr Big Tom. What do you call him?” Bradley pointed to Colin.

Lui looked up at Colin and her smile turned a bit besotted. “Ah Mr Sweet Man.”

At Bradley’s snarking laughter, it was Colin’s turn to call out “Shut it Bradley!” 

 

As they stood at the till paying, Bradley instructed the girl to set him down for an appointment every two weeks. Looking through the booking schedule, he put himself down for appointments coinciding with Colin’s. 

As they left the salon, Colin grinned at him.

“So, guess this makes you a metro-sexual, eh Bradley?”

Bradley shoved his shoulder into Colin’s. “Just don’t tell my mom, will you? She’s already got two daughter, she doesn’t need another one.”


End file.
